Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992: duties, assessment and TILE

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers in Great Britain to avoid hazardous manual handling so far as is reasonably practicable, to assess the handling that remains, and to reduce the risk of injury from it to the lowest level reasonably practicable. Regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR 1992) sets those duties, and Schedule 1 to MHOR 1992 lists what the assessment has to consider. TILE, an acronym used in manual handling training, is a shorthand for four of that Schedule's five factors.

What counts as manual handling

Regulation 2(1) of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 defines manual handling operations as "any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or by bodily force". The same regulation says a load includes any person and any animal.

Supporting counts as much as lifting. On a working site the definition covers bagged cement lifted onto a customer's trailer, timber carried across a yard, a roll cage pushed down a pick aisle, a pallet truck pulled up a ramp and a component held in position at a machine.

Regulation 2(1) of MHOR 1992 also narrows "injury". It excludes harm caused by a toxic or corrosive substance that has leaked or spilled from a load, sits on its surface, or forms part of it. A burn from a leaking drum is a matter for your COSHH assessment; the back strain from lifting it falls under these Regulations.

What the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require

The employer's duties sit in regulation 4 of MHOR 1992 and the employee's in regulation 5 of MHOR 1992. They apply in England, Wales and Scotland, and Northern Ireland has its own equivalent regulations.

Avoidance comes first. The assessment duty in regulation 4(1)(b) of MHOR 1992 applies "where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need" for the handling. So the first question for any task is whether it has to be done by hand at all, or whether a lift truck, a powered conveyor or a delivery to the point of use removes it. An assessment that opens with lifting technique has skipped the duty in regulation 4(1)(a) of MHOR 1992. HSE's guidance on the Regulations, L23, describes "reasonably practicable" as balancing the risk against the money, time or trouble needed to control it.

The weight information duty is qualified twice. Regulation 4(1)(b)(iii) of MHOR 1992 applies only where the handling carries a risk of injury, and asks for general indications of weight, with precise information only where that is reasonably practicable. HSE's guidance on labelling loads says weights to the nearest kilogram or two are usually enough, and that a scanner screen or voice-picking headset can give the warning.

Review is triggered by events. Regulation 4(2) of MHOR 1992 sets no fixed interval. A review is due where there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid, or the handling has significantly changed, and the employer must make the changes it shows are needed. A new product range, re-racking, longer shifts or a reported back injury can each put an assessment in question.

Our guide to employer responsibilities for manual handling covers how these duties fit with the rest of an employer's health and safety arrangements.

The manual handling risk assessment and TILE

Schedule 1 to the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 sets out five factors, each with questions the employer must consider. They are shown here in the Schedule's own order.

TILE is a training mnemonic, and the Regulations never use it. It stands for task, individual, load and environment, four of the five factors in Schedule 1 to MHOR 1992, in a different order. HSE's L23 and its online guide to assessing manual handling name the same four factors without the acronym. TILEO adds the O for other factors, which in Schedule 1 to MHOR 1992 is a single question about protective equipment and clothing.

Regulation 4(3) of MHOR 1992 makes the individual a legal part of the assessment. It names the employee's physical suitability, clothing and footwear, knowledge and training, and the results of the general risk assessment under regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. It also names any group that assessment found especially at risk, and the results of any health surveillance under regulation 6 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Findings from musculoskeletal health assessments bear on the employee's physical suitability, so they belong in it too.

Choosing the depth of assessment: filters, MAC, V-MAC and RAPP

L23 accepts your own methods in place of HSE's checklists, provided the assessment is suitable and sufficient, and sets out three levels of detail:

1. Simple risk filters, which assume handling that is infrequent, symmetrical and in favourable conditions. A task inside the filter normally needs no further assessment unless someone doing it may be at significant risk, such as a pregnant worker or someone with a recent injury.
2. A scoring tool such as MAC or RAPP. L23 calls for one, or a full assessment, where, among other conditions, handling is more frequent than one lift every two minutes, involves twisting or team handling, or the load is hard to grasp.
3. A full risk assessment against every factor in Schedule 1 to MHOR 1992.

HSE publishes four scoring tools. The MAC tool covers lifting, lowering, carrying and team handling, and the V-MAC extends it to loads of varying weight, such as order picking. Pushing and pulling has its own tool, RAPP, and repetitive arm and hand work has the ART tool.

In our manual handling assessments we observe and score each handling task with the MAC and RAPP tools, and give you a risk-rated register with a prioritised action plan. For a builders merchant's branch and yard, see safe manual handling for builders merchant staff.

Is there a maximum weight for lifting at work?

No. The Regulations set no weight limit, and HSE's own guidance says the same. HSE publishes a filter for spotting low-risk tasks instead.

In L23's lifting and lowering filter, the highest values are 25 kg for men and 16 kg for women, for a load held close to the body between elbow and knuckle height, and every other position carries a lower value. L23 says the filters give a reasonable level of protection to around 95% of working men and women, and that "you must not regard them as safe weight limits for lifting". Above about twice the filter values, it says, handling may be a serious risk even for fit, well-trained people.

So a 20 kg bag held close to the body between elbow and knuckle height is inside the men's filter for an infrequent lift in reasonable conditions. Lifted from the floor it is outside, and for women it is outside at every height.

Frequently asked questions

What does TILE stand for in manual handling? Task, individual, load and environment, a training mnemonic for four of the factors in Schedule 1 to the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. TILEO adds other factors, which the Schedule limits to protective equipment and clothing.

Is there a maximum weight a person can lift at work? There is no legal maximum. HSE's L23 filter values, up to 25 kg for men and 16 kg for women, screen out low-risk tasks and must not be regarded as safe weight limits.

What are the legal requirements for manual handling? Employers in Great Britain must avoid hazardous manual handling so far as is reasonably practicable, assess and reduce what remains, give information on load weights, and review the assessment when needed, under regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.

What are examples of manual handling? Lifting bagged cement, carrying timber, pushing a roll cage, pulling a pallet truck and holding a component at a machine. Moving a person or an animal counts too, because regulation 2(1) of MHOR 1992 includes both in "load".

Does a manual handling risk assessment have to be written down? If you have five or more employees, yes. The duty comes from regulation 3(6) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which requires the significant findings, and any group found especially at risk, to be recorded, and HSE's L23 applies it to the manual handling assessment.

How often should a manual handling assessment be reviewed? There is no fixed interval. Regulation 4(2) of MHOR 1992 requires a review when there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid, or the handling has significantly changed.

What duty do employees have under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992? Each employee must make full and proper use of any system of work the employer provides to reduce the risk of injury, under regulation 5 of MHOR 1992.